April 10, 2011 -- Director Joe Wright seems to specialize in making movies about young women for whom it is difficult to manufacture any sympathy, or rather one particular woman, Saoirse Ronan. In the highly overrated movie Atonement, Wright needs an elaborate, near impossible, set of coincidences and circumstances to manufacture sympathy for young, passive-aggressive Briony Tallis, who ruins the lives of two people by telling a lie. In “Hanna” Wright doesn't try as hard to manufacture sympathy for the title character (played by the same Saoirse Ronan). This time Ronan's character doesn't just ruin people's lives, she kills people, just as a hunter kills game, and she does that too.

At first glance, this looks like one of those films about girls with guns, an 80-pound weakling who does impossible feats of strength and skill (like in “Sucker Punch,” for instance), but it is a step up from that. There is actually a sort of plausible explanation given in the movie about how a skinny little girl is able to snap a person's neck like a twig, not that this really matters. This explanation actually makes more sense than the rest of the film's plot which has something to do with a rogue CIA operation and a spy master trying to erase all traces of her past crimes.

Hanna's father, Erik (Eric Bana of “The Time Traveler's Wife”) has trained Hanna to be a killing machine in a remote Arctic forest. Hanna reckons she has had enough training and wants to see the wider world (she's never seen a light bulb or TV). Erik says O.K., flip the switch on this little box and the world will come to you, and it does. The signal from the box is picked up by the CIA, where it comes to the attention of the evil Marissa (Cate Blanchett of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”).

Marissa is most anxious to erase evidence of her past crimes, which may well mean that Hanna and Erik have to die. She employs some off-the-books unsavory types to do her bidding. Much of the film involves a chase by the shadowy forces of Marissa pursuing both Hanna and Erik. Many people are tortured and killed along the way. In fact, most of the movie's main characters, and many lesser characters, end up dead, for some vague purpose. The bad guys are definitely worse than the good guys, but the good guys aren't all that good, either. This is a tale told entirely in dark shades of gray.

If you have a strong personal sense of morality, or if you value human life, you will probably find this a disappointing film. Human life has no particular value in the world of this film. There is no law, no justice, no particular morality of any kind. Hanna is a killing machine with almost superhuman powers, yet she avoids using those powers to protect others. Evidently, she hasn't hear Stan Lee's dictum: “With great power comes great responsibility.” She often runs away, leaving friendly people behind to face the fate she has brought down upon them at the hands of her pursuers, despite the fact that these people have befriended and helped her with no thought for themselves. Hanna is a survivor, not a hero.

This is cowardly behavior, yet the movie gives us no reason whatsoever to like Hanna, except that I guess she is supposed to be cute. As in the film “Atonement,” an elaborate set of circumstances is crafted in which give excuses for the behavior of Saoirse Ronan's character. There are circumnstances to explain why Hanna doesn't have the human compassion that most people have and why she doesn't stand up for others. As in “Atonement,” Ronan plays an immature character who is not responsible for her actions. She is a passive victim of circumstance. The message of this movie is that if you see a young girl in trouble, don't help her. Run away, because death may be following her.

The action scenes in the film are handled competently. While the script doesn't require much emotional depth from most of the characters, the acting, too, is competent. This action movie is well suited to Ronan's acting range, similar to other action stars like Clint Eastwood, whose facial expressions typically don't change much from one scene to the next.

The story advances for fairly long periods of time with no dialogue, a testament to the skill of Wright and his collaborators. On the downside, more exposition would have helped fill out the story, which is filled with plot holes and unanswered questions. In sum, this is an emotionally hollow film about Darwinian survival of the fittest. It is about the law of the jungle, where only the most ruthless, calculating, merciless killers survive. If this reflects your own view of the world and you are O.K. with that, this movie may be right up your alley. For me, this was a waste of time and money. This film rates a C.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2011 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .